St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church | Vestry Meeting Minutes | March 16, 2021
Vestry Members Present
Joe DeuPree, Senior Warden
Michael Legacy, Junior Warden
Andrew Besterman
Kathy Carson
Murray Followill
Todd Frary
Randy Hering
Lisa Pearson
Ruth Woodward
Staff Present
Father Christopher Thomas, Rector
Officers Present
Paul McCright, Clerk
Rusty Rippamonti, Chancellor
Absent
Allen Junek, Seminarian-in-Residence
Summary
These minutes contain the following Vestry actions:
- Motion to remove Randy Hering from the counting list for six months while he serves as Church Treasurer.
Note: We are unable to meet in person due to the Covid-19 common sense physical distancing restrictions placed by authorities of the government and church.
Narrative
- CALL TO ORDER AND OPENING PRAYER Rector
The Vestry meeting was called to order on Zoom at 7:03 p.m. by Father Christopher, who opened the meeting with a prayer. The following agenda was covered during the meeting.
- RESOURCE PERSON FOR MEETING NAMED – Randy Hering
- CHECKING IN
Each person had the opportunity to say anything that is on their mind. After some sharing, Father Christopher reminded us to remember each other in prayer.
- FINANCIAL REPORTS Treasurer
There was no financial report available as we are transitioning between responsible people.
5. RECTOR’S REPORT Rector
< Regathering is being considered for the near future. The reopening is under the purview of the Rector under the auspices of the Bishop. The Regathering Committee already developed a plan for reopening. Our Regathering Plan will be implemented beginning with an April 18 in-person worship service. We will be under the Bishop’s Level C Protocols requiring masking and social distancing. The worship will take place in the Parish Hall because we can socially distance more effectively there. We will not be singing, but we will have a spoken service with the Eucharist and instrumental music. We are not sure the comfort level people will have for returning to in-person church. At this point, we plan a 9:00 Zoom service and a 10:30 in-person service requiring prior notice of attendance given to the church. We can seat about 40 people in the Parish Hall. We will have to try it and see how it goes. It will be a journey of discovery. Questions concerning who else will be involved as servers, etc. were discussed. Father Christopher invited ideas and suggestions be given to him.
< Holy Week is coming very soon. The Worship Team is working on designing these services.
< Father Christopher suggested we develop a mission group to perform missionary work in the community, such as reaching out to the immigrant teens to be brought to Dallas.
< Bishop Smith is planning a visitation to the Dallas area later in the year. This will allow us to have a Rector Institution at that point.
6. OLD BUSINESS DeuPree
< Joe DeuPree had follow-ups on the Vestry Retreat concerning the opportunity to meet again to discuss some carryover issues. Retreat Leader Francis Schuster suggested we come together for about 2 hours on a Saturday to have a second meeting. Father Christopher suggested we discuss dates for coming together again with several proposed and discussed. Joe will check to see when Francis is available other than Saturdays.
< Joe re-introduced the question of whether the Treasurer should NOT be a member of the Vestry. Pros and Cons regarding the Treasurer being on the Vestry were discussed. Several pointed out a separation of the Treasurer from counting would lessen any appearance of impropriety. Others suggested we need to bring new people into leadership positions and this is an excellent opportunity. Consensus was to have a Vestry member serve as Treasurer on an interim basis until we can find another member to serve. During the interim period the Treasurer will be exempted from any functions involving cash. Meanwhile, we will look into finding a member to serve as Treasurer. Randy Hering has previously volunteered to serve as Treasurer until a non-Vestry member can accept the position.
Motion to change the counting list to remove Randy Hering for as long as he remains as the Treasurer.
Moved by Joe DeuPree
Seconded by Andrew Besterman
Motion approved unanimously by show of hands with one abstention by Randy Hering.
7. JUNIOR WARDEN’S REPORT Legacy
< Church keys are available to new members and replacements for current members. If you need updated certifications for Safeguarding God’s People, Pam will be in contact with you.
< The Key Log of who has keys– people and organizations – needs to be updated. This will be coordinated with the SGP certifications.
< The irrigation systems survived the freeze with only minor damage – several sprinkler heads and a cracked underground pipe. We had no burst pipes in the building nor in the garden.
< Jan Pro, our cleaning service returns to full-time cleaning of all spaces in early April in preparation for re-opening.
< The PBX phone system got an upgrade, which has disabled our old phones. We are in the process of examining alternative services.
< The Black Lives Matter sign and zoom church information banners have been realigned/readjusted due to soggy ground.
< DSS Fire Monitoring informed me that we hadn’t paid the bill for all of last year. This was not our fault as their switchover to a new system dropped our account. That has been rectified and the bill will now be paid.
< Forney Air will soon come and complete the Spring service/tune-up of our HVAC units. They will install air scrubbers on the two Nave units. These are the last units to get this upgrade to improve air quality.
< Outside windows and gutters will be cleaned before we return to worship as part of usual Spring cleanup.
< Tree and brush trimming will occur along the back drive. It’s been several years since anything was done here.
< The trees survived the freeze in good shape. Not so much the shrubs, especially along Inwood Road. We will wait another week to see what might come back. We will also look at several options for relandscaping should it be worse than we fear.
< The roof needs to be inspected for possible leakage and we need a plan for screening gutters and repairing the downspouts. The screening and gutter repair will require bids.
8. SENIOR WARDEN’S REPORT DeuPree
< The Vestry has historically had a member liaison with each Guild. Often the liaison is a Vestry member who is also serving on the Guild. Volunteers for the following Vestry-Guild Liaison positions were received:
< Acolytes – Todd Frary
< Altar Guild – Murray Followill
< Community Garden – Randy Hering
< Greeters & Ushers – Andrew Besterman
< Kitchen and Social – Randy Hering
< LMS – Lisa Pearson
< Readers – Ruth Woodward
< Mission Outreach Committee – Kathy Carson
< Kathy suggested putting a notice in The Doubter soliciting volunteers for Mission Outreach since this is a new committee. Father Christopher will follow up.
< Joe is soliciting a chair for the Audit Committee. He noted the Endowment Fund Committee is functioning with members elected at the Parish Meeting.
< Stewardship Committee – will advertise in The Doubter for members
9. RESOURCE PERSON FOR APRIL MEETING – Ruth Woodward.
10. CLOSING PRAYER
The meeting was closed with a blessing and prayer by Father Christopher Thomas.
11. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on April 20.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul McCright
Paul McCright, Clerk
